2 - Culture and Attention Flashcards
how does face perception differ in the west vs the east?
western culture observers looked at faces in triangular formation making direct eye-contact
eastern culture observers looked at central region of face not making direct eye-contact
(Blais et al., 2008)
why does eye-contact differ in eastern vs western cultures?
direct eye contact may be considered rude in eastern cultures, especially with elders
direct eye contact expected in western cultures “look at me whilst I’m speaking”
does eye contact perception differ in western vs eastern cultures?
Finnish participants were better at perceiving eye contact when looking at their own race
Japanese participants were overall worse at perceiving eye contact, no difference when looking at own race
(Uono & Heitanen)
why is there a difference in eye contact perception in western vs eastern cultures?
- western culture encourages eye-contact
- eye-contact generally avoided in eastern culture so not practiced as much
(Uono & Hietanen)
what were Uono and Hietanen’s conclusions?
- visual experience with Finnish faces throughout development led to more effective processing of these faces
- eye contact minimal in Japanese culture so participants didn’t have as much experience
what did the frame & line test show?
American students were better at the absolute task than Japanese - no context needed
Japanese students were better at the relative task than Americans - incorporates context
this applies to individuals living in the cultures e.g. American students in Japan perform similar to Japanese students
(Kitayama et al., 2003)
what did Kitayama conclude from the frame & line test?
individuals engaging in East Asian cultures are more capable of incorporating contextual information
individuals engaging in North American cultures are more capable of ignoring contextual information
when engaging in another culture, individuals show the cognitive characteristic common in host culture
how does the incorporation of contextual information affect gaze cueing effect?
if there is a longer stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA), more time between cue and target to process contextual information, Japanese students show no gaze cueing effect
Japanese participants use contextual information to choose whether to follow gaze cue
what can eye tracking tell us?
- distribution of attention
- what was noticed
- indicates what is deemed important
- order of importance
what are differences in eye movement in scene perception in western vs eastern cultures?
Westerners tend to be more focused on individual objects
East Asians tend to incorporate context, more fixations on the background
(Chua et al 2005)
what did Chua et al conclude?
differences in judgement and memory may have origins in differences in what is attended as people view a scene
how is the perceptual environment of Japanese vs eastern cultures different?
Japanese scenes are more complex and ambiguous than American scenes
objects look more embedded in the field in the Japanese perceptual environment
(Miyamoto et al, 2006)
are culturally specific patterns of attention afforded by the perceptual environment of each culture?
change blindness task found:
both Japanese and American participants primed with Japanese scenes were more able to detect change
being primed with Japanese scenes made participants attend to more contextual information
(Miyamoto et al, 2006)
what did Miyamoto et al conclude?
culturally characteristic environments may afford distinctive patterns of perception
suggests a dynamic process through which attention can be shaped and sustained by perceptual environment
what causes cultural differences in attention?
- genetics
- society we live in
- environment we live in
